All for Love
by orangesunsets
Summary: Peeta and Katniss come to learn together the different forms of love and what one can do to have it... or to save it.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER I**

_**MISSY**_

"Higher!"

"Yes, higher", he replies with a soft grunt as he pushes the blue-eyed girl with a bit more force this time. Wriggling her pudgy legs in delight, she squeals as she swings away from him, her dark hair flapping in the breeze. He smiles at her reaction, and I can't help but do the same with his. That smile, it just melts my heart.

It's been raining for the past couple of days. This morning, the clouds gave way and let the sun shine through. I've been stuck at home because of the rain and, this afternoon, the birds called out for me to go bask in the sunshine. It's almost 6 o'clock now and the sky is as warm and as gentle as this young guy's smile.

"Higher!"

I begin to study the rest of his face: how his wavy, ashy blonde hair falls over his forehead, how blue and beautiful his eyes are, the way his lips curve up into a smile every single time the little girl shrieks.

Before I even realize what's happening, I see that pair of blue eyes locking with my brown ones. He then gives me a small nod. I feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment and I can't help but look away.

"Pretty day, huh?" I hear him say.

"Yes. Yes, it is." I stammer.

"Please! I want to go higher!"

"Cute kid." I find myself saying to him, reverting my eyes back to both of them. "Your… uhh… sister?" For some weird reason, I am aware I do not want to say "daughter".

He smiles again, wider this time.

_Oh god, please stop doing that._

"Daddy, higher", she answers for me.

"Oh. Daddy. Right." I laugh to myself. This guy that I have been crushing over for the past few minutes is already a dad. _Way to go, Missy._

"Sorry. I seem to forget my manners. My name's Missy, by the way."

"Peeta."

_Peeta, the handsome guy with the heart-melting smile._

"And this is River."

_River, the blue-eyed squealing, swinging daughter of Peeta… who's still the handsome guy with the heart-melting smile. Oh my god._

"Hi, River."

A shriek is all I get as a response and I can't help but laugh.

"Are you new here? I've never seen you around before." He tells me.

"Uhh, yeah, you can say that", I inform him. "What about you?"

He looks down at the ground, avoiding to look me in the eye. This sparks my interest more.

"Have you lived here long?"

"Mommy!"

My questions remain unanswered as he looks up from the ground and I follow his gaze. A woman is walking up to us with a big smile on her lips. She is hugging a bag full of groceries. Peeta hurriedly runs to her, gets the paper bag and gives her a quick smack on the lips.

"Mom, look how high I go!"

Peeta's wife, _obviously_, runs to her and pulls the swing to a gentle stop. Peeta, meanwhile, deposits the bag of groceries a few feet beside me on the park bench I was sitting on and stands there, just watching in adoration the two girls of his life.

"Yeah, you look like you were about to fly off, sweetie", she tells River as she collects her from the swing. "But we have to go home now. It's getting late."

"Can we come back tomorrow, Mom", she pleads as "Mom" turns to face Peeta and I.

"Let's see, okay?"

"Hi."

It takes me a good three seconds before I realize that she's talking to me. It's not difficult to see why Peeta adores her. With her long, black hair, gray eyes, olive skin, that cute nose and her slender figure, she is just beautiful.

"I - I'm sorry. Hi. I'm Missy." I extend my arm to shake her hand. She shifts River's weight onto her hips and politely takes my hand in hers.

"Katniss."

_Katniss, mom of River and wife of Peeta… who's still the handsome guy with the heart-melting smile._

"Nice to meet you, Katniss." I pull my hand away, noticing that it's now beginning to sweat which happens whenever I'm nervous.

_What is happening to me?_

"Pleasure", she says with a smile. I steal a quick glance at Peeta who is again looking at the ground.

"Let's go?"

Peeta nods and takes the groceries in his strong arms.

"I'm really sorry, but we have to go."

All I can do is nod. "Yeah. It's okay. I'll see you around."

I watch them walk away from where I'm sitting, replaying in my head what I just said to her. I realize, when I said "you", I wasn't pertaining to her or River or them as a family.

I was only referring to Peeta.

**- END OF CHAPTER 1 -**

_Thank you for taking the time to read. Comments are very much appreciated. Thanks very much in advance - orangesunsets_


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER II**

_**KATNISS**_

I hear the low rumbling of thunder as I climb the stairs slowly. It had been raining since this morning - well, actually, it still is - and I mentally congratulate myself for getting all the grocery shopping done yesterday. River's not feeling well since she woke up this morning and, personally, I'm blaming it on this crazy weather. She chose to stay in bed all day which she hardly ever does. Being the active and happy kid that she is, that is very unusual. I let out a deep sigh and shake my head at the thought. My poor River. I really hate it when she gets sick!

Almost an hour ago, right after Peeta and I finished eating dinner, he went upstairs to check on River while I, as usual, took charge of cleaning up the kitchen. I know that her staying in bed all day raised that little red flag in his brain as well. It consoles me greatly that we're in this together, raising her, taking care of her and worrying about her. We share this burden, Peeta and I, this burden that makes all the difficult parts of it worth it, this wonderful, blue-eyed burden of joy we named River. After all that we've been through, I can't imagine living without them.

A streak of lightning casts a brief eerie glow upon the hallway and thunder rolls again, a little louder this time, as I give the door to River's bedroom a little push. I find Peeta fast asleep on River's bed, her tiny head on his broad chest. An arm wraps protectively around her. I stand beside the bed, admiring those arms for a minute, remembering what it's like to be in between them. For me, that's the only place where I feel safe, secure and truly loved. I know River feels the exact, same way, and I can't help but smile at what I'm seeing.

I approach the bed slowly and sit down beside River's sleeping figure. Her small chest rises and falls evenly as I lay my hand on her forehead. She's still a bit feverish. I smile immediately, trying my best to erase the worried look I know I have on my face, as I find a pair of bright blue eyes looking up at me.

"Mom", she croaks.

"Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?"

She answers my question with a small sniffle. "Better. Daddy fell asleep."

"Yeah, and I think you should too."

River shakes her head against Peeta's chest.

"Can't sleep, huh?"

She nods this time.

"You're going to give yourself a headache if you keep doing that, you know."

"I feel fine now, Mom", she assures me as I gently stroke her hair. All of a sudden, a very loud crack of thunder interrupts our conversation. River closes her eyes shut and tries to bury her head onto the side of her dad's body. I chuckle, realizing what's keeping her awake. "It's not funny, Mommy", she scolds me, her already tiny voice muffled by Peeta's clothes.

Peeta stirs and smiles at me sleepily, that facial expression of his I fall in love with every waking morning. He then notices River, whose head is still pressed against him. "Hey, baby, what's the matter", he asks, his voice full of concern.

"Mommy's laughing at me because I'm afraid of thunder."

"Sweetie", he began, shifting to his side to face us. "What did Daddy tell you?"

I lay myself down next to River as she pulls her face off of Peeta's body. I close my eyes, realizing how tired I really am.

"As long as…" I hear him continue.

"As long as you and Mom are around, I shouldn't be afraid of anything."

* * *

I open my eyes slowly. _What time is it? It's still dark. It can't be morning already. _I groan, feeling a lot more tired than I last remember, and put my hands over my eyes. _Please, I need a few more minutes of sleep!_

"That face, I won't get tired of falling in love with it over and over again. Don't cover it."

Putting my hands down, I turn to my side to face Peeta. River is fast asleep between us, for real this time.

"There, that's a lot better."

"I'm sorry. I must have dozed off." I very carefully put my hand again on River's forehead and sigh in relief, feeling that her temperature had already gone down. He nods in agreement.

"Just for a few minutes, though."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

He smiles. "Because I like watching you sleep."

I smile back at him. He does say the sweetest things.

"You and River, I like it. It makes me feel…" he pauses, obviously contemplating on the right word. But I already know exactly what he means.

"Peaceful", I finish for him.

"Yes, peaceful."

We both lay in silence for a minute or two.

"Still awake", he asks in a whisper.

"Yeah."

Silence again.

"Peeta, thank you."

"You're welcome", he automatically replies. He's respectful that way. "Wait. What for?"

I reach my hand out across River to hold his hand. "For everything." I look at the little girl sleeping beside us. "For giving me River."

I look at him again as I feel his lips at the back of my hand. "What are you talking about, Katniss? I should be the one thanking you. You saved me in different ways that I could be saved. You never gave up on me even if I gave you all the reasons to do so."

"You know I love you, right?" I give his hand a gentle squeeze of assurance.

He nods and reaches down to plant a kiss on River's head. "Thank you for this wonderful little girl, for giving me this kind of life."

His blue eyes find mine. "For saying 'real'."

I can feel my eyes starting to well up. I cannot think of anything to say, but I guess this is the type of scenario where one doesn't have to say anything… only feel… or cry.

"You and River are my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you both more than you will ever know."

I reach over to give him a well-deserved kiss, careful not to move too much and wake River up.

I then become aware that I am not tired anymore.

**- END OF CHAPTER 2 -**

_Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Comments are very much appreciated. Thanks very much in advance - orangesunsets_


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